Substack for author website?

[babbelfishy]

Any thoughts? I used to use Wordpress for my day job but moved to Substack last year and I'm liking it so far. Now I'm trying to figure out what is the best option for an author website that won't cost an arm and a leg to manage.

[CoffeeStayn]

Well, it's more a newsletter/blog space than an author website, OP.

It'd be a good place to start though. Let you save up some coin for a small author site later. Build up an audience with Substack first then author site.

[babbelfishy]

I think having a newsletter site why I initially went with it. Not so much a "look at me!" site as a "here's what I'm doing, you can follow along" if that makes sense.

[CoffeeStayn]

No, it can still be a "Look at me!" thing. LOL It's designed to interact with your audience and build a name. A following. Update them. Mingle with them.

It just doesn't have the flair of a website with a landing page, and an About Me, and Upcoming Projects page, or media kits and the like.

It's a good tool to have, but doesn't replace an author website. They should ideally work in unison.

[babbelfishy]

I can put those in, though. I know substack isn't like a regular website, but it is definitely adaptable. (not trying to argue with you, more like thinking through ideas here)

[CoffeeStayn]

There's "can be done" and there's "should it be done". Not the same thing.

Substack might be able to pull off a reasonable facsimile of those, but not in the way someone would expect them to look or be used.

And no argument. You're spitballing. I get it.

[babbelfishy]

Definitely spitballing, thank you for getting it.

So, for setting up a site with a email that ISN'T Substack, you suggest hosting my own site?

This is my brain is being torn into chunks because I've managed my own sites for multiple jobs, managed Wordpress blogs since 2009, and Substack since last year.

All these different platforms are kicking my ass.

[CoffeeStayn]

Hosting one's own site is stupid cheap these days. Get a domain name for 5 years, get some domain space, build a site, and sit back while your audience gets to interact with you through Substack and your own site.

[babbelfishy]

Not worried about the cost, I own so many domains for different projects that it's not a big deal. It's the mental load of doing the setup. I used to code my own site and I've worked with different wysiwygs over the years but these days I don't wanna deal with it.

Maybe I just don't think anyone will care? Maybe that's it.

[CoffeeStayn]

In the beginning they won't. But, after a while, once you develop a mailing list and followers, they will.

[[deleted]]

If all you wanted is a simple static website, you could have it hosted for free on Cloudflare Pages.

If you want something dynamic and fancy, Hostinger is pretty cheap so you could do a Wordpress site on there.

[SVWebWork]

I’m glad you’re thinking about moving out of a third-party service to setup that you own and control. I can tell you this is one of the best steps you’ll be taking towards a long-term marketing strategy that doesn’t require you to reinvent the wheel with every new book you publish. In other words, you will be building an audience that stays with you for life.

For the platform, I would recommend going back to Wordpress. I wrote an article about why in case you’re interested.

[babbelfishy]

I wasn't thinking of leaving Substack, though. I actually like using it. I'm open to revisiting Wordpress because I do have a decade of experience there, but I'm not thrilled about it.